Wednesday, 17 July 2013

-Music Videos on my Mind- Shy FX feat. Liam Bailey’s “Soon Come”

This will perhaps make greater sense to second generation British readers in that they are a demographic that often seems caught between two stools; cut off from the antiquated heritage Britain prizes so eagerly, while not able to fully claim complete identification with the backgrounds of their immigrant parents.

Britain is a nation of class and elitism. Most opportunities are open to anyone with a red passport, but as people of colour, it’s hard to envision ethnically diverse British people becoming part of the Monarchy, or even having a shot at being Prime Minister, or even being cast in Downton Abbey. That’s just not the way Britain works, and there seems to be a taciturn acceptance of such things.

In that sense, there is always a fascination with the motherlands of our respective heritages, constantly contemplating what music our parents’ listened to in their youths? What dance crazes were popular where they came from? Why did they give it all up for a life in ye olde worlde Britain?

It’s easy to take drum and bass producer Shy FX for granted, having consistently worked on the London jungle music scene for the last twenty years and produced as many hits as misses. SoonCome, his collaboration with Liam Bailey, is pure atavism on Shy FX’s part, harking back to a time and culture that seems so integral to whom he is, yet so distant to where he’s at. It’s magical, nonetheless.